Torre Cabrera (Pozzallo)

Last updated
Torre Cabrera
Turri Cabrera
Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy

Pozzallo-TorreCabrera.JPG

View of Torre Cabrera
Coordinates 36°43′39″N14°50′54.6″E / 36.72750°N 14.848500°E / 36.72750; 14.848500
Type Tower
Site information
Owner Public
Open to
the public		 Yes
Condition Intact
Site history
Built 15th century
16th century (modified)
Rebuilt after 1693
Built by County of Modica

The Torre Cabrera (Sicilian : Turri Cabrera) is a watchtower in Pozzallo, Sicily. It was originally built in the 15th century, and was enlarged and rebuilt in the following centuries. Today, it is in good condition and it is open to the public as a museum.

Sicilian language Italo-Dalmatian language spoken in Southern Italy

Sicilian, also known as Siculo or Calabro-Sicilian, is a Romance language spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. It is also spoken in southern Calabria, specifically in the Province of Reggio Calabria, whose dialect is viewed as being part of the continuum of the Sicilian language. Central Calabria, the southern parts of Apulia and Campania, on the Italian peninsula, are viewed by some as being part of a broader Far Southern Italian language group.

Watchtower type of fortification

A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area. In some cases, non-military towers, such as religious towers, may also be used as watchtowers.

Pozzallo Comune in Sicily, Italy

Pozzallo is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. Four beaches in Pozzallo have received the Blue Flag award by the FEE, an award given to beaches which meet strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services. Only eight beaches in Sicily have received the Blue Flag, including the four located in Pozzallo.

History

In the 15th century, the site of Pozzallo had natural springs known as "Pozzofeto" and "Senia", which were marked on nautical charts and were well known among sailors. When the Chiaramontes, Counts of Modica built a warehouse complex containing docks and ramps for the loading of goods on ships, it became necessary to construct fortifications in order to defend the area. In the early 15th century, King Alfonso V of Aragon authorized Count Giovanni Bernardo Cabrera to construct a tower which bore his name. The coat of arms of the House of Cabrera is sculpted inside the tower.

Chiaramonte noble family

The Chiaramonte are a noble family of Sicily. They became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. In the 13th century the marriage of Manfredi Chiaramonte to Isabella Mosca, united the two Sicilian counties of Modica and Ragusa. Around 1307–1320, the couple built the family seat, the Palazzo Chiaramonte, in Palermo.

County of Modica

The County of Modica was a feudal territory within the Kingdom of Sicily from 1296 to 1812. Its capital was Modica, on the southern tip of the island, although the cities of Ragusa and Scicli housed some government offices for a period. Today it perpetuates as a title only held by the head of the House of Alba, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba.

Modica Comune in Sicily, Italy

Modica[ˈmɔːdika] is a city and comune of 54.456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains.

The tower became an impressive structure and it had great military importance, since it was used to defend Pozzallo from attacks by pirates. The tower was garrisoned by soldiers and gunners, and guns of different calibers were placed on its terraces. Captured pirates or other criminals were executed at the tower by being placed in a room on the rocks and being drowned by the high tide. [1]

The tower was modified and enlarged in the first half of the 16th century, during the reign of Emperor Charles V. [2]

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1556), King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire, Archduke of Austria, and ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands (1506-1555). The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas, and the German colonisation of Venezuela both occured during his reign. Charles V revitalized the medieval concept of the universal monarchy of Charlemagne and travelled from city to city, with no single fixed capital: overall he spent 28 years in the Habsburg Netherlands, 18 years in Spain and 9 years in Germany. After four decades of incessant warfare with the Kingdom of France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Protestants, Charles V abandoned his multi-national project with a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556 in favor of his son Philip II of Spain and brother Ferdinand I of Austria. The personal union of his European and American territories, spanning over nearly 4 million square kilometres, was the first collection of realms to be defined as "the empire on which the sun never sets".

The tower collapsed during the 1693 Sicily earthquake. It was rebuilt, although some modifications were made to its original design. [1]

1693 Sicily earthquake 1693 earthquake in Sicily

The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful in Italian recorded history, and a maximum intensity of XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, destroying at least 70 towns and cities, seriously affecting an area of 5,600 square kilometres (2,200 sq mi) and causing the death of about 60,000 people. The earthquake was followed by tsunamis that devastated the coastal villages on the Ionian Sea and in the Straits of Messina. Almost two-thirds of the entire population of Catania were killed. The epicentre of the disaster was probably close to the coast, possibly offshore, although the exact position remains unknown. The extent and degree of destruction caused by the earthquake resulted in extensive rebuilding of the towns and cities of southeastern Sicily, particularly the Val di Noto, in a homogeneous late Baroque style, described as "the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe".

The village of Pozzallo first began to develop around the tower during the 18th century. It was initially a community of a few hundred people, including soldiers and fishermen, but it eventually grew to a town.

Today, the tower is in good condition, and it is now open to the public as the Museo della torre Cabrera. [2] The building is a national monument, and it is depicted on the coat of arms of Pozzallo. Some of its windows have been rebuilt in their original style.

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Catania is the second largest city of Sicily after Palermo located on the east coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is the capital of the Metropolitan City of Catania, one of the ten biggest cities in Italy, and the seventh largest metropolitan area in Italy. The population of the city proper is 320,000 while the population of the city's metropolitan area, Metropolitan City of Catania, stood at 1,116,168 inhabitants.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Torre Cabrera". regione.sicilia.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Torre Cabrera (Pozzallo - Ragusa)". castelli-sicilia.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 December 2015.
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